Milawa, Victoria trave guide and things to do: Nine must-do highlights

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Milawa, Victoria trave guide and things to do: Nine must-do highlights

By Anthony Dennis
The Lancemore Milawa hotel in north-east Victoria received a multi-million dollar makeover in 2022.

The Lancemore Milawa hotel in north-east Victoria received a multi-million dollar makeover in 2022.

THE ONE LUXURY HOTEL

The 40-room Lancemore Milawa - the signature accommodation in one of Australia's oldest food and wine regions in the north-east corner of Victoria - underwent a vaunted multi-million dollar makeover last year. Perfect for a short break, or even longer, the extensive interior designer-led transformation extends right from the rooms, some of which overlook both grapevines and distant mountains, to the top-notch restaurant (see below) and cosy communal guest lounges. See lancemore.com.au

THE ONE SLOW LUNCH

Make some time for the slow (you've got three hours) degustation lunch at Brown Brothers winery, which dates to 1889 and is, conveniently right across the road from the Lancemore Milawa (leave the car in the hotel car park and imbibe). A one-hatted Good Food Guide recipient, chef Bodee Price's accomplished dishes are served in a thoroughly unpretentious rustic room with many of the ingredients sourced straight from the winery's own kitchen garden. See brownbrothers.com.au

THE ONE WINE VALLEY

A pleasant and scenic half-hour or so drive from Milawa is the sparkling King Valley, the home of the highly-successful Italian-style prosecco wine in Australia. Rich in Italian-Australian immigrant heritage, the region, with the small town of Whitfield as its centrepiece, is home to famed wineries with tell-tale names like Dal Zotto, Pizzini, La Cantini and Politini. There are also good winery restaurants, cooking schools and low-key accommodation amid or overlooking the valley's lush vineyards. See visitvictoria.com

THE ONE TOWN

Credit: Alamy

One of Australia's most beautifully preserved gold rush-era towns, Beechworth is an easy and enjoyable road trip from your central Milawa base. It's brimful of colonial history here (as well, these days, tourists), such as the courtroom where Ned Kelly was arraigned before his execution. Beechworth also boasts the perpetually (two) hatted, Japanese-influenced Provenance, inside a converted 19th-century bank, headed by indefatigable chef Michael Ryan. See explorebeechworth.com.au; theprovenance.com.au

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THE ONE BREAKFAST

Wing your way to Wang (as locals love to refer to the nearby town, sorry, regional city of Wangaratta) for surely the best breakfast in these well-sated parts. Not only does terrific espresso coffee flow freely at Cafe PreVue, so too does a tree-draped waterway right beside it. The cafe, with al fresco as well as indoor seating, is set right next to the Ovens River, gorgeously fringed with native bush parklands. See cafetheprevue.com.au

THE ONE RESTAURANT

A beneficiary of Lancemore Milawa's makeover is the hotel's own attractive in-house diner, Restaurant Merlot, named in honour of the variety of grapevines it directly overlooks, along with a scattering of designer beanbags for lounging. Talented executive chef and local boy Aaron Joses once worked at the legendary Simone's of Bright (enough said) . Skilled and inviting dishes showcase, as you'd nowadays expect, with an abundance of quality local ingredients teamed with the region's abundance of premium drops. See lancemore.com.au

THE ONE WINERY EXPERIENCE

Back at Brown Brothers, not content to serve up a range of cannily curated food and wine-matched adventures (oh, and, of course, the odd award-winning drop), the historic winery also offers an array of inspired winery experiences. Choose everything from a day glamping picnic (complete with a pitched tent for shade) a fly-in tour including a Brown Brothers family cellar inspection, or a guided wine tasting and themed chow down. See brownbrothers.com.au

THE ONE CHEESEMAKER

Every self-proclaimed gourmet region surely requires a gourmet fromager. Fortunately, a short drive or long-ish walk from the Lancemore is the popular Milawa Cheese Company tucked away behind a former heritage butter factory on the eponymously-named Factory Road. There are Australian farmhouse cheeses to take home (or back to your suite) as well as a choice of companionable picnic goodies See milawacheese.com.au

THE ONE PUB

After all of those delectable multi-course meals down Milawa way, you may be hungering for some more simpler fare. Head back to Whitfield's welcoming Mountain View Hotel, owned and operated by the local Pizzini wine-making family. Aside from their own wines, there's an appropriately Italian-tinged menu featuring homemade-style dishes including hearty pastas. Dine inside the pub itself or outside in the popular and shaded birra giardino. See mvhotel.com.au

ONE MORE THING…

The tiny crossroads village of Milawa, right near to the hotel, would benefit some from some re-investment and imagination, if not love, as befitting the stature of the region and surrounding businesses.

The writer visited as a guest of Lancemore Milawa.

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